Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,994 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,278 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 1.0% of Sentry Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LLY. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. HSBC downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of LLY stock traded up $16.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $766.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,131,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,637,015. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $773.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $799.64. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $677.09 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $726.71 billion, a PE ratio of 65.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.82%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.